Antigo school board fails to elect replacement after three tied ballots; seat remains open

The Unified School District of Antigo board held an organizational meeting and was unable to elect a new board officer or fill an open seat after multiple tie votes and a single appointment ballot failed to produce the five votes required for appointment.

Board members conducted secret-ballot tallies for president and vice president; both contests produced repeated 4-4 splits and no candidate received a majority. The board then proceeded with organizational business and later moved to consider 12 candidates for one vacant seat on the board. In an alphabetical roll-call vote, no candidate received the five votes necessary to be seated.

The process for filling the vacancy was explained to the public: candidates were interviewed under a standardized eight-question protocol to avoid leaks and to provide a consistent basis for evaluation. Chair Danny P. (presiding) said the board would accept additional letters of interest and reopen the appointment process. The board set a filing window for letters of interest from the following morning through Thursday, June 11 at 3:00 p.m.; the item will appear on the agenda for the next meeting.

Board members debated whether to narrow candidates or conduct additional rounds of voting and asked the attorney about past practice and the district vacancy policy. The board attorney advised following the district policy and noted the board may again consider nominations and votes at the next meeting.

Next steps: the board will accept letters of interest by the announced deadline and attempt to fill the vacancy at the next meeting; in the meantime, current officers continue to serve under the district bylaws until a successful election is held.